The Rebellion
The Rebellion or the "Gem War" was an event that occurred approximately 5,750 years ago, according to Garnet, when the Crystal Gems rebelled against the Gem Homeworld to protect Earth. According to Pearl, the war lasted approximately 1000 years. The war ended with the diamonds setting off a weapon that corrupted every unprotected gem that remained on Earth, in a last-ditch effort to win the war. Ultimately, the Crystal Gems emerged victorious. In "It Could've Been Great", Peridot reveals that the plan for Homeworld Gems was to colonize the Earth by erecting multiple spires and making more Kindergartens, but would strip the entire planet of its resources while virtually erasing all pre-existing life on Earth. However, Rose Quartz saw that every life was important and worth protecting, and starts to rebel against her kind, with Pearl alongside her. In "The Answer", Garnet made it seem as if Homeworld was previously colonizing the Earth, under Blue Diamond's jurisdiction, though it was actually under Pink Diamond. During that time, 5,750 years ago, Rose Quartz, a Quartz under her,started a rebellion, eventually shattering her1 After this, a small group of rebels emerges to oppose the colonization of the planet. Due to this, Blue Diamond summoned Sapphire and had to assign three Ruby guards to protect her, one of which included Ruby herself. During a two-Gem raid by Rose and Pearl's conduct, Ruby fused with Sapphire by accident to form Garnet for the very first time. After the two rebels flee the scene, Blue Diamond demands Ruby be "shattered" for the incident. Sapphire reacts by grabbing Ruby and jumping out of the arena towards the Earth's surface. Over an unknown period of time, Ruby and Sapphire develop a romantic relationship and fuse once again. After running into Rose and Pearl again in a chance encounter, Ruby, and Sapphire as Garnet join the Crystal Gems' rebellion. In "Rose's Scabbard", the Crystal Gems visit an ancient Gem Battlefield where Pearl says a battle was fought over 5,000 years ago. Garnet describes that countless Gems broke in a maelstrom of death and destruction during the fight. In "Sworn to the Sword", Pearl later reveals that some of the first battles for Earth happen at the Ancient Sky Arena. She also states in "On the Run" that the Homeworld Gems want to do something bad to the Earth, and some Gems, such as herself, Garnet, and Rose Quartz find their proposals unfair to the life already existent on the Earth. They rebelled against them, and the historic battle happened with Rose Quartz leading her armies of Crystal Gems, fighting against the Gem Homeworld. Greg Universe also appears to have knowledge of the war; he states in "The Return" that during the Rebellion, Rose could only use her shield to save a handful of her closest friends, and that many Gems and people died during the conflict. In this episode, Jasper also states she was present during the war for Earth, and that she fought against Rose's armies, enough to develop a level of respect for her tactics. "Serious Steven" is the first episode to show this battlefield, and the events of the Rebellion are most likely recorded on the walls of the Pyramid Temple, as one can see a carving of Rose fighting against an unknown Gem. In "Same Old World", Lapis, as she tells Steven her backstory, shows him how, when it became clear there was no hope of stopping the rebellion, the Homeworld gems remaining on Earth quickly fled the planet by using either the Galaxy Warp or the original colonization ships. She was accidentally left behind in the panic to escape. In "Monster Reunion", it is revealed the Centipeetle was the captain of a squadron that was sent to Earth together by an unknown commander. At the end of the Rebellion, the soldiers were ordered to retreat and a flash of bright light was cast upon the Earth, by the Diamonds, which caused the corruption of Gems. In "Bismuth", it is revealed that Rose told the gems that they lost Bismuth the Gem at "The Battle of the Zigurat." In "Back to the Moon", it is revealed the shattering of Pink Diamond effectively started the war.